Will deities withhold support if I have not formally joined a religion?

Lacking formal membership does not make deities unwilling to support you. Practice returns to conduct, application, and responsibility for yourself. Religious rituals offer worthwhile experiences and learning, but cannot be reduced to an identity.

In my early years, worshipping Guanyin and Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattvas while also approaching the Lady of the Nine Heavens and the Three Pure Ones, I wondered why deities still supported me and reminded me of work to do despite unfinished formal rites. When I asked the Taoist Patriarch, he simply smiled rather than give a lengthy explanation. I understood then that divine help and love are not because you belong to a religion, but because you are yourself.

Later, I valued personally experiencing taking refuge and Taoist initiation. Speaking from the sidelines without participating may not reveal a ritual's connection with you. You know best whether you practice sincerely; there is no need to perform for others or deities. Responsibility to yourself, the deities, and the teacher guiding you, with good character and actions, is what needs realization.

I did have profound feelings during the rites. At Taoist initiation I felt the Three Pure Ones arrive; during Buddhist refuge, collective recitation also brought a sense of the Bodhisattva's presence. These experiences deepened my appreciation of the impact when everyone participates with shared intention. Ritual is worth experiencing without requiring everyone to respond as I did.